Most guys will set goals in 2026. Most will abandon them within weeks.

Not because they’re weak, but because the brain isn’t designed to handle the way we're told to set goals.

In this episode, Keir breaks down what actually happens in the brain when you aim too high, move too fast, or try to change everything at once. The result isn’t ambition. It’s shutdown.

You’ll learn:

1. Why big goals create fear instead of progress
2. How belief shapes what you’re capable of achieving
3. The “mini-target” approach that builds momentum quickly
4. How to design habits your brain can stick to
5. The simple system that helped one client lose 100lbs without extremes or burnout

This is a practical, grounded approach to building a year you can sustain — based on how the brain really works, not how we wish it worked.

If goals haven’t worked for you in the past, this episode will show you what to do instead.

Connect with me:

Email

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At what point did we stop being capable?

When did running upstairs start feeling like a sprint?

When did climbing a tree with our kids become a risk instead of a reflex?

In this episode, Keir Wotherspoon, performance coach and founder of LIFT Performance Academy, breaks down what it really means to stay athletic for life — not “fit,” not “in shape,” but truly ready for anything.

Keir shares the story of a father who couldn’t show his son how to swing on the monkey bars — and how that moment quietly exposes the truth about most men over 40.

He also reveals how another client went from 290 pounds and out of breath after five minutes of football… to running a marathon within a year, alcohol-free and a hundred pounds lighter.

You’ll learn:

◼️Why most men lose their physical confidence long before they realise it

◼️The 9 tests that define your true athletic baseline — strength, endurance, and power

◼️How to rebuild the Type II muscle fibers that keep you fast, capable, and alive

◼️Why chasing “fitness” misses the point — and how to train for freedom instead of fatigue

◼️The mindset shift that separates men who age well from those who simply get older

This isn’t about chasing abs or records.

It’s about reclaiming your edge — so you can live, move, and play without limits.

👉 Find out where you stand.

Take the free Ready For Anything Performance Test today.

If you train to improve these numbers, you’ll be in the top 2% of men your age —

and, more importantly, you’ll be the kind of dad who can keep up.

At 38, I was 30lbs overweight, constantly exhausted, and completely lost my zest for life. Between kids, work, stress, and trying to keep everything together, my health quietly slipped to the bottom of the list — and it caught up with me fast.

If you’re working hard, providing for your family, carrying pressure nobody else sees, and wondering why your energy has crashed, your drive has vanished, and your body is heavier — this episode will give you the tools to turn it around.

You’ll hear:

◼️How burnout actually shows up in parents and busy people

◼️Why your energy, mood, and body can shift even when you think you’re “doing everything right”

◼️The hidden loops that keep you stuck in stress and bad habits

◼️The turning point that helped me take control again

◼️The 3-step system that made losing 30lbs realistic — not overwhelming

Email me a question.

Take the FREE RFA (Ready For Anything) Performance Test.

Check out my YouTube channel

Still icing injuries? Stop. The doctor who invented R.I.C.E. says it doesn’t work. In this episode, Keir explains why ice delays recovery, what actually heals the body, and how movement speeds up the process — physically and mentally.

Follow Keir & LIFT Performance Academy on social -

Instagram (Keir)

Instagram (LIFT Performance Academy)

Download our FREE Strength Training Guide for Girls in Sport

Take our FREE Athlete Energy Quiz

Hey parents,

The risk for teenage girls is real. Overtraining and under-fuelling are more common than most people think.

Those at highest risk are sports that value aesthetics, weight, or endurance... things like running, gymnastics, martial arts, boxing, rowing, swimming, and dance.

But with football now demanding year-round training, multiple matches, and high fitness expectations, we’re seeing more girls showing the same early warning signs — constant fatigue, missed periods, and recurring injuries.

It’s not about effort or discipline.

It’s about energy availability... and when the body doesn’t have enough fuel to match its output, it starts to shut down the very systems that make an athlete strong.

That’s why awareness matters.

The Female Athlete Performance Quiz helps you spot the early warning signs — low mood, fatigue, disrupted sleep, irregular periods, or slow recovery — before they turn into something serious.

It only takes a couple of minutes to complete, and the results could save your daughter years of frustration, injury, or worse.

👉 Take the Athlete Energy Quiz together here

Most men don’t realise it’s happening until it’s already gone.

The energy. The focus. The drive.

One day you’re on fire, and the next you’re wondering where that man went.

In this episode, we uncover:

• The real reason men over 40 feel tired, flat, and “not themselves”
• Why testosterone is your “factory of drive” and how modern life shuts it down
• The truth about TRT: when it’s essential and when it’s just a trap
• Why sleep is the closest thing to a magic pill for men’s health
• The 3 lifestyle habits that naturally reignite testosterone and motivation
• How identity and purpose tie into your drive more than you realise

This is not about quick fixes.

It’s about taking back control of your health, your energy, and who you are as a man.

🎧 Listen now and learn how to rebuild your drive before it’s too late.

Connect with Keir

YouTube

Email

Is stress killing you or powering you?

In this episode, Dr. Bernadette Dancy reveals why everything you’ve been told about stress is wrong, how cortisol really works, and why burnout shows up differently in neurodivergent brains.

Dr. Dancy spent 15 years lecturing in sports science and health & exercise psychology, before dedicating the last 8 years to coaching people through chronic stress, burnout, and performance plateaus. Her work now focuses on helping individuals and professionals harness stress instead of fearing it.

She explains:

◼️ Why “stress management” is a myth—and how to actually harness stress for performance

◼️ The truth about cortisol: your misunderstood energy switch (not the enemy hormone)

◼️ How burnout really manifests—and why neurodivergent brains are hit differently

◼️ Why kids are more vulnerable to burnout than you think (and what parents can do)

◼️ The hidden signs of chronic stress—and how to recover before your body breaks down.

• Instagram:
• LinkedIn:
• Website:
• CPD Training:

• Instagram:
• YouTube:
• Email:
• LIFT Performance Academy

Want to help your daughter prevent injuries, play faster, and stay confident on the pitch?

Grab your free copy of the Strong Girls Guide to Strength Training, including our proven Athlete 7 Warm-Up:

For six months, I disappeared.

Not because I didn’t care, but because I was trapped in my own head.

In this raw episode of The High Performance Gym, I confess the truth about why I stopped podcasting: overthinking, procrastination, burnout, and losing my identity as a dad, coach, and business owner.

But this isn’t just my story—it’s yours too. Because whether you’re a parent juggling family and work, or a young person trying to figure out your future, chances are you’ve felt stuck, overwhelmed, or like you’ve lost your way.

This episode is about coming back. About why this podcast exists. And about how we can use strength, health, and the science of neuroplasticity to reset, rebuild, and find direction when life feels like it’s falling apart.

I share:

◼️ How overthinking turned into paralysis (and what pulled me out)

◼️ Why burnout nearly destroyed my love for health and fitness

◼️ The lesson lockdown taught me about identity, purpose, and family

◼️ Why your brain’s ability to change is the greatest hope we have

◼️ What this podcast will give you—and why it might be exactly what you need.

Follow Keir -

YouTube

Instagram

Send an email

Companies & people mentioned in this episode:

• Lift Performance Academy
• Stress Ed
• Bernadette Dancy (CEO Stress Ed)
• Andrew Huberman

FREE S&C Guide For Young Female Athletes

Right now, thousands of teenagers are sitting at kitchen tables, highlighters in hand, staring at revision notes—wondering if they’re doing enough.

The pressure to perform in GCSEs is intense.

Parents want the best for their kids.

Schools push for results.

And students feel like their future is riding on a single exam paper.

But what if that pressure is doing more harm than good?

And what if there was a better way to learn—a smarter way to succeed?

In this episode, we sit down with Aaron, who was once a quiet, underconfident student labelled “not academic.” He wasn’t top of the class. He didn’t believe he was clever. But something shifted—and today, he’s applying for a PhD in Sport and Exercise Psychology, driven by a passion for understanding how we learn, grow, and perform under pressure.

Aaron’s story is proof that confidence and potential can be built.

And it starts with understanding how the brain really works.

Whether you're a GCSE student or the parent of one, this episode gives you practical tools to reduce stress, improve focus, and make learning stick—without burning out.

👩‍👧 This episode is for you if…

• You’re a student who feels like you’re working hard but nothing’s going in.
• You’re a parent trying to support your child through GCSEs.
• You want strategies to learn faster without burnout.

🎯 What You’ll Learn:

• How stress and pressure impacts the brain—and why it kills motivation.
• The #1 biggest revision mistake most students make that stops learning.
• 3 Tools to learn faster without spending hours reading materials.
• Why rest, recovery, and exercise are more important than revision.
• The role of neuroplasticity in confidence, learning and changing your brain at any age.
• How Aaron rewired his mindset from a lost boy to a Dr of Sport Psychology.
• What parents should and shouldn't say during exam period.

00:00:00 Introduction & Aaron’s return to the podcast

00:03:00 School stress, migraines, and pressure in exams

00:07:50 Aaron's backstory & strength training at 12 years old

00:13:10 Strength training as the gateway to self-confidence

00:17:30 From “the grey man” to self-belief

00:25:40 GCSE pressure, identity, and performance anxiety

00:33:00 What sparked Aaron’s journey toward psychology

00:41:30 Keir’s powerful story: from factory burnout to university

00:52:40 The moment learning clicked (for both of us)

01:00:30 Why every student should understand neuroplasticity

01:12:00 Purpose, pressure, and exam overwhelm

01:17:45 Best strategies for memory and revision (spaced repetition, active recall)

01:27:50 The role of sleep, recovery, and exercise in learning

01:34:20 Final tips for students and parents.

Links:

Episode 1 with Aaron

How to connect and link up with Aaron -

LinkedIn

Website

Connect and link up with Keir -

LinkedIn

Instagram

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If you enjoyed this episode please hit the subscribe button.

If you have questions or topics you'd like us to cover send us an email.

What if your fatigue, brain fog, and struggles with weight gain isn’t just in your head, but a missing message from your hormones?

And more importantly, what if your daughter is on the same path… before it even begins?

In this episode of The High Performance Gym, I’m joined by Dr. Nicky Keay—endocrinologist, medical doctor, and global expert on female health and performance—to unpack The Female Hormone Odyssey: from puberty to perimenopause and everything in between.

We uncover the hormonal red flags no one talks about in girls and women—from under-fuelling and missed periods to brain fog, burnout, and unexplained weight gain.

Because while you might be fighting to feel like yourself again… your daughter could already be fighting too. What You’ll Learn:

• Why teenagers experience painful periods and how to manage them.
• Why the contraceptive pill can be detrimental for teenage girls sport performance and longterm health.
• How RED-S, burnout, brain fog, and broken cycles are all connected
• What parents and coaches need to know about fuelling young female athletes
• How to spot the invisible signs of under-recovery—before they wreck performance
• Real-world solutions for perimenopause, stress, and energy crashes
• Why strength training, fuelling, and even HRT could be the key to feeling like yourself again

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Welcome & What This Episode Is About

01:14 – Dr. Nicky’s Journey: Medicine, Dance, & Hormone Health

04:43 – The Hormonal Lens: What Most People (and Doctors) Miss

12:40 – Mapping the Female Hormone Odyssey

16:40 – Estrogen & Progesterone: Why They’re a Power Duo

27:29 – The Athlete’s Dilemma: Pushing Through the Pain

27:54 – RED-S Explained: The Hidden Drain on Energy & Performance

38:34 – What Young Athletes Actually Need to Eat & Drink

40:03 – How to Balance Meals With Training (Without Going Broke)

40:24 – Budget-Friendly Fuelling: Ideas for Real Families

42:39 – Hormones, Burnout, and the Cost of Ignoring Stress

44:00 – Managing Recovery for Busy Adults Who “Can’t Stop”

49:36 – Navigating Perimenopause: Training, Eating, and Surviving

57:17 – Why Strength Training is Your Superpower at Menopause

01:03:34 – The Truth About HRT: What You Should Be Asking

01:10:45 – Final Thoughts + Where to Learn More From Dr. Keay.

Dr. Keay is a medical doctor and clinical lecturer at University College London (UCL) specialising in exercise endocrinology and performance health. She’s the author of two books, Hormones, Health & Human Potential and Myths of Menopause, and she's a sought-after speaker for women’s health, sports science, and education.

Connect with Dr Nicky:

Instagram

LinkedIn

Website: nickykeayfitness.com

⚡️ This episode is perfect for…

• Women over 35 who feel “off” but can’t explain why
• Parents of active girls navigating puberty, fuelling, and mood changes
• Female athletes who’ve lost their period, energy, or spark
• Coaches who want to truly support female performance
• Anyone curious about how hormones shape energy, resilience, and brain power.

If you enjoyed this episode…

Please share it with a friend, leave a review, or tag us on social.

🧠 Want to Go Deeper?

If this episode resonated with you, take the next step:

Warrior Women Quiz – Discover how strong your habits are across the 7 pillars of unstoppable female energy:

Female Athlete Scorecard – For coaches and parents: assess if your daughter or athlete is thriving—or just surviving:

Because when you understand hormones, you stop fighting your body—and start performing like the warrior you are. 💪